Senators Dany Heatley Traded to San Jose

The saga is over – Dany Heatley and fifth round pick to San Jose for Michalek, Cheechoo and a second round pick. I took a look at most of the articles by the other Puck Doctors, and the one thing I noticed is that many of us writers don’t focus on recent news as much as we should. There is not one article about the Phoenix Coyotes, or the Dany Heatley saga, which has been going on for what seems like forever.

However, I doubt this is going to be the only article celebrating the fact that Dany Heatley has gotten out of Ottawa. I am so sick of reading articles about it, different rumor reports, and so on. I am thrilled that this saga is finally over.

Let me preface what I am about to say, in noting that I think this has been blown out of proportion. Players ask for trades all the time. Chris Pronger requested a trade out of Edmonton. Heatley already requested a trade when he was in Atlanta. And these were just the ones that went public. I do not know how Heatley’s request became public before he was traded, but many forget that he requested this trade earlier in the calendar year. The disgruntled forward was traded to the Oilers before a $4 million bonus was due to him, however, Heatley vetoed that trade, making the Senators pay it to him.

This morning, Dany Heatley and a fifth round pick were traded to the Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo, and a second round pick. Dany Heatley did accept this trade.

Let’s break the trade down a little bit for each team. Fans are going to start hearing, “Thornton to Heatley” frequently – and that scares me. That is a very deadly combination. In my opinion, the Sharks do have enough depth up front that they can lose an extra body, and have a few players shift up in the ranks. It is not farfetched to think about Thornton picking up another Art Ross Trophy this year if some instant chemistry is formed.

But what concerns me is the leadership issues in San Jose. They have never performed well in the playoffs. The Sharks have gone all the way to say, “There is no captain in San Jose.” Doug Wilson just added Dany Heatley to this mix and many of the players who had heart on that team are no longer with them.

For Ottawa, this is a step in the right direction. There has not been a whole lot of positive things to speak of with this franchise for a while, other than the departures of a few players. It seems like forever ago that the Senators let go Hartsburg as their head coach, and brought in Cory Clouston. I do not have the exact numbers that he went as head coach, but I know it included a long home winning streak, as well almost make up for the poor start.

Clouston giving Heatley the reduced role is the only official report that has been given as to why Heatley requested the trade. Getting the distraction that Heatley would have been this season out of the locker room is a major plus for the organization, but still work needs to be done.

Jonathan Cheechoo has been rumored to be on the move for a while, after the struggles he’s had the past couple of seasons. I am not a big fan of his, but I hope for the Senators he can start to put up some more points and earn his paycheck on their second line. Michalek looks to be pegged for their top line, and he has the speed to play there. He is a fast winger and I do see his production increasing with Spezza and Alfredsson on his line.

I only officially know one other offer that the Senators had in place, but considering the circumstances, this is a good move for the Senators. They received a young and quick guy in exchange for a distraction. They have lost some production sure, but hopefully the trade off is worth it.